What If?
by bananabottoms
Summary: Lily and James Potter didn't die that night, Voldemort did. Sirius never went to prison. Peter went to prison instead. Harry Potter is a pretty normal boy, dealing with normal boy things.


Disclaimer- I don't own anything JKR wrote.

* * *

The cobblestone pathway lay sitting in the mist. The entire street was quite and deathly still, it made Lily Potter feel uneasy. She curled further into the couch, an uneasy knot settling into her chest. Her husband was sitting next to her on their overstuffed, overused couch. She turned to him doubtfully and bit her lip, trying to decide whether or not she should voice her concerns. It had happened earlier that morning when she woke up, the entire day she had a sense of dread in her stomach. Sirius and Remus had made her feel alright when they came over to play with Harry, James had tried to ease her worries moments before, but still, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She tapped nervously on her pregnant belly and glanced over at James.

"James, I don't feel right," Lily finally said, after another ten minutes of contemplating. "Something isn't right." Harry had started getting fussy and she plucked him off the floor to sit in her lap.

"Oh, Lily-" James said, trying to mask his wariness. He understood that his wife was afraid of something, he wasn't quite sure what.

"James! I really just don't feel right!" Lily snapped, not able to control her temper. Harry made a whiny noise that both his parent's ignored for a moment. "I have a feeling that something isn't wrong."

"I know you do-" James started again, but Lily stopped him.

"Remember the week before our wedding?" Lily asked, her voice rising. "I told you something bad was going to happen to your aunt Mabel, didn't I?"

James grudgingly responded. "Yes-"

"And what happened the next day?" Lily asked, her voice already sharp with winning.

"She fell down and broke her leg and my mother had to go and take care of her for four days and nearly missed the wedding," James replied, closing his book with a snap. There was a moment's silence. "So what does this mean? What do you want to do?"

"I just feel as though there's something wrong…Don't you feel it?" Lily persisted, looking down at Harry's messy black hair. "Can't we just go somewhere for the night?" James opened his mouth to say something and Lily plowed on. "Even if this turns out to be something completely stupid, can't you just indulge me or something?" James stared at his wife for a moment. Finally he let out a giant sigh.

"Go pack an overnight bag, I'll floo Sirius," James responded dully. He slid off the couch and ambled over to the fireplace as his wife sped upstairs. "Sirius?" James called into the flames. "Oi!"

"What?" Sirius asked, poking his head into the fire. "Prongs, what're you doing? It's dangerous to be flooing from your house. What if someone-"

"Listen, Lily doesn't feel right, can we stay here tonight?" James asked, rolling his eyes for the sake of his manhood.

"I guess…Do you think that's safe though?" Sirius asked doubtfully. "I mean no one can find you there unless Peter told them."

"I know, I know," James replied hastily. "Lily just doesn't feel right."

"Well come on over," Sirius said with a small shrug. "Tell Red not to worry about it."

"'Kay," James said. "We'll be there in ten minutes."

"I'll set up the guest room," Sirius replied and disappeared from sight.

"Lily, Sirius said we can stay with him for the night. Tomorrow we'll talk to Dumbledore and see what he says about your feelings," James called up the stairs.

"Alright," Lily responded and came down carrying two bags and Harry. "I changed him, changed him into sleep clothes and packed four bottles. Is that enough?"

"We'll be fine," James said taking the baby. "Hey Pronglette, we're going to see uncle Padfoot, can you say Padfoot?"

"Pafa," Harry replied dutifully.

"Good enough," Lily said with a laugh. She handed James his bag and stepped into the fireplace. "Sirius Black," she called and rushed away. Moments later she was stepping out of the fireplace into Sirius's flat. "Padfoot?"

"Bedroom," he called. A moment later James came out of the fireplace, still holding the baby. "There, there, I know, I know," James was cooing a disgruntled Harry. He made an uneasy noise and settled into his father's chest.

"Baby doesn't like to floo," Lily said taking Harry out of his jacket and setting him on the couch. "Sirius why is there a bowl with empty candy wrapper sitting on your coffee table?"

Sirius walked out of the room and glanced at it. He smiled. "Cheeky little bastards those 'trick or treaters' are. Why should they get candy just because they dressed up in a cloak? I do it all the time and no one gives me candy."

"Don't blame small children for your own gluttony," James snapped playfully and sat down on the couch. Sirius scooped Harry into the air and jiggled him on his hip.

"So, Red, bad feeling?" Sirius asked, not unkindly. Lily glared over at James, who pretended he didn't notice.

"I just didn't feel right, and my feelings are usually right," Lily snapped. She took off her coat and rested it on the chair next to her bed. "Where's Remus?"

"Home," Sirius said with a hardened expression.

"Why don't we invite him over here and have a party?" Lily suggested. "Peter too! By the way, where has he been lately? We haven't seen much of him."

"His mother's ill and he's been taking care of her," James said now prodding a bottle into Harry's mouth while he rested on Sirius.

"No," Lily said, shaking her head. "I just saw his mother the other day. She would have mentioned if she was ill." Sirius and James glanced at each other with a small shrug.

"Maybe it was his aunt," Sirius suggested.

"I don't think so," Lily said, now biting her bottom lip. "Wouldn't his mother say if someone was ill? You know how she gets. She'll talk and talk until you physically shut her up. Remember the time we sat there for fifty minutes while she went on about her great-uncle's toe fungus."

"Oh yeah," James said nodding and then shuddering. "She even had pictures."

"Ew," Sirius said handing the baby completely over to James. "So what's his problem then? Maybe he's finally gotten sick of us?"

"Call Remus," James suggested. "Maybe he's heard from our shunning friend. He still on your floo network, Padfoot?"

"Yeah…" Sirius said and then stopped. "Can I talk to you two for a moment?"

"Sure," Lily replied, sitting back in the chair as Sirius rested his weight against the couch. "What's up Sirius? I haven't seen you like this since-"

"How well do we really know Moony?" Sirius burst out suddenly. There was a long pause in which Lily and James gaped at him.

"What d'you mean?" James asked stupidly. The spoon in his hand was suspended in midair where he stopped it, inches from Harry's outstretched mouth.

"I mean," Sirius snapped, "do we really know what he's been up to lately? You know how quiet he gets and he's quite secretive about what he does for Dumbledore…"

"Sirius, you can't honestly suspect Remus of being the leak," Lily said, her voice caught between anger and outrage. "He's been your friend for ages!"

"We all know it's an inside person, someone we probably know and trust," Sirius persisted, his cheeks flaming under their stare. "That's a pretty narrow number. I know it's not me, I'd rather die than hurt you three. Who would honestly trust…Peter…"

"Now it's Peter?" Lily said with an angry snort. "Sirius, seriously! Why are you acting like this? Let's call Remus over and ask him for ourselves!"

"I'm sure that'd go over amazingly," James said sarcastically. "'Hello, Remus, old friend. I know it's so late to ask you over but we want to make sure that you're not the one giving us away to You-Know-Who…I know it's ridiculous to even think about it…Oh, now you're never talking to us again? Great!' Bloody brilliant, Lil."

"You know it wouldn't go like that!" Lily snarled. "Sirius, floo him right now and find out for yourself. What harm can he do with all of us here?"

"Bring the Dark Lord into my living room," Sirius muttered and reached into the fire. He took out the shivery powder and flung it into the stone opening. "Moony? You here?" There was the sound of shuffling and a few choice swears before Remus's tired head appeared in the fire.

"Padfoot, it's eleven at night. What is it? Is something wrong?" His voice now took on an urgent not and he seemed to become worried.

"No, no," Sirius said with a sidelong glance at James and Harry. "Could you just come over here for a moment?"

"Sure, is something the matter? You looked worried," Remus observed.

"No, no, just bored out of my brains," Sirius said, his amazing acting skills coming in handy.

"And you're calling me? You must be bored," Remus said with a snort. "Where's James?" Sirius shot James and Lily a sharp glance.

"Home, why?" Sirius asked.

"Well, that's what I told Peter when he flooed me a moment ago. He said they weren't answering their fireplace," Remus replied.

"Maybe they went to bed early, you know how the baby keeps them up at night," Sirius said and bit his lip. Remus shrugged.

"I s'pose," he said. "Step back, I'm coming through."

"Alright," Sirius replied. "Get ready."

"He isn't a Death Eater," Lily snapped.

"Or so we think," Sirius said giving her a piercing look. Lily sighed impatiently and watched as Remus's slipper covered foot stuck through onto Sirius's living room couch.

"So what d'you wanna-James," Remus said, sounding mildly surprised. "What're you doing here? Sirius said you were at home."

"Well, we just got here," Lily said, a small, nervous smile on her lips.

"Ten seconds ago?" Remus asked, his face showing a bemused expression. "Where's your shoes and jacket?"

"I didn't wear shoes," James replied.

"Ah…" Remus answered, frowning. "Why do I have the feeling you three aren't telling me something?" There was a long pause.

"Remus…" James began but stopped. How exactly was he supposed to ask his best friend if he was the one who was betraying them?

"Yeah…?" Remus answered, smiling slightly. "C'mon guys, what's up?"

"Can we see your left arm, Remus?" Lily answered, striding forward and pulled up his fleece covered arm. There was nothing but faint scars from his days as a werewolf.

"Well it only shines-" Sirius began. Suddenly there was a popping noise and they all turned to see Peter standing in the kitchen looking panic stricken. "Peter? What're you doing here?"

"I-I c-couldn't get in t-touch with Lily and James, so I t-thought of the n-next place they'd c-come in trouble. H-here," Peter explained, his face shining with sweat. He looked at them.

"You look ill, are you alright?" James asked, placing his hand on Peter's left arm. Peter recoiled at the touch and hissed in pain. James's face hardened slightly as he held Peter's arm down and yanked the sleeve up to reveal the Dark Mark burning jet black on his arm. "Peter?"

"G-get away!" Peter cried, slipping his wand out of the jacket and pointing it straight at James. "Stay back! I'll kill you, I swear I will!" There was a long, pained silence.

"Peter, let's just talk about this calmly," Lily said, placing one foot forward. She was staring at the wand which was pointed directly at her husband's heart. "Put the wand down. You don't want to do this."

"I promised you to the Dark Lord," Peter said, his chubby face looking drawn and sad. "I'm sorry, but I promised."

"So you're the one who's been leaking information," Sirius said, looking quickly at Remus, who was only interested in what Peter was doing. "Peter, just put down the wand."

"D-don't come any closer, Black!" Peter yelped and took a step backwards, nearly into the couch where Harry was sitting. Lily's heart clenched painfully at what would happen if Peter saw Harry.

Remus was slowly sliding his wand out of his back pocket. Sirius glanced down at his hands, which were moving so slowly it looked as if they were still stationary. Sirius followed suit and soon their wands were clenched firmly in their hands.

"Peter," Remus said, his voice becoming silky and soft, almost coaxing. "We're your friends. You don't want to do this."

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Peter hissed. "You have no idea what I would want or wouldn't want to do. You four were always bossing me around as though you owned me! Not anymore! I'll be the Dark Lord's most trusted follower after this! He'll give me things you couldn't even imagine!"

"Oh, Peter," Lily whispered. Her eyes were sad and angry. "How could you? We trusted you." While Peter was busy glancing at her, Sirius and Remus pulled their wand to the front and called for a Body-Binding spell. Lily, who had rushed to the couch and ran into a corner, watched the entire thing take place. When it was over, Peter was knocked unconscious and the three men were standing over him in complete shock.

"I…I don't believe it," James whispered, his face shocked.

"I'm sorry," Sirius whispered. "He could have killed you and it would have been my fault!"

"Don't say that," Remus said sharply. "You couldn't have known that, no one could have."

"I thought it was you!" Sirius burst out and wrapped Remus into a tight hug as small, scared sobs wracked through his body. "I'm sorry…"

"Sirius…" Remus said, sounding uncomfortable.

James walked over to Lily who was shivering. Harry was crying softly into her chest when James wrapped his arms around her, trying to ease her panic. She finally broke into harsh sobs that made her feel sick. She leaned into James and cried until no more tears would form in her eyes. "I can't believe he would do that! He sold us out…" James whispered over and over again. Lily was still shaking in fear when they four of them met in the center of the room to hug and cry some more.

"He would have killed you," Remus said, his face white as chalk. "We should probably get Dumbledore or a Ministry member over here…Moody maybe?"

"No, Dumbledore would be the only one who'd understand," Lily said, finally finding her voice. Sirius strode over to the fireplace and called for Dumbledore, who promised to be there in moments.

"He should be here soon," Sirius said.

"I still can't believe-" James started when suddenly there was a giant boom and a sudden cold swept over the room, making Lily shiver again. There was a crack like a gun shot and the three men were thrown into the wall opposite them, knocked unconscious. When the smoke cleared, Lily was standing face to face with none other than Voldemort. She let out a terrified shriek and pressed herself further into the wall, clutching onto Harry furiously. He threw back his head and let out an amused laugh.

"You Mudbloods never cease to amuse me," he said, his red eyes glinting with excitement. "Hand him over and I shall spare your life."

"No," Lily shouted, she placed Harry on the couch and turned to Voldemort.

"What did you say, Mudblood?" Voldemort hissed, his eyes now looking deadly.

"You can't have him! I won't let you!" Lily shouted.

"Stand aside!" Voldemort ordered. His wand was pointed at her.

"Take me instead! Spare his life," Lily wept, her entire body shaking with fear. It shouldn't end like this, he couldn't have her baby, the one thing that had brought her so much joy.

"I will not ask you again, Mudblood, step aside or I'll kill you," Voldemort roared, shaking the walls around him. He raised his wand slightly. Lily swept around, turning her back on Voldemort, still clutching onto Harry furiously. Harry had begun to cry, soft baby sobs.

"No!" Lily screamed. Her voice was wobbling with fear.

"_Avada Kedarva,"_ Voldemort roared. There was a blinding green flash and Voldemort's spell shot through a crook in Lily's arms to strike Harry in the head, it bounced off of his head and shot back at Voldemort with the speed of a rocket. He let out a roar of pain, a blinding light sounded off the room, Lily felt as though she were blinded, and forced her eyes shut. The impact sent her hurtling into the wall, Harry wasn't harmed, only by the spell. She could Harry screaming in pain and sobbed harder, until finally, the room was deathly silent. After ten minutes, she turned around slowly and saw only smoke and a ruined roof. She smelt burning wood and furniture and found herself crying again. Voldemort was no where to be seen.

"Lily?" someone called through all the mess. She recognized the voice as James's.

"James?" she called and stepped over to her husband who was clutching his head in pain. "Are you alright? We need to get out of here! The entire place is going to collapse!"

"What happened?" James asked, bewildered by her actions. She removed her wand and lifted both Sirius and Remus into the air on magic stretchers. When she crossed over to Peter, she also lifted him and they stumbled out of the room. "Are you alright? You're shaking! Lily, what happened to Harry? Lily, why are you crying? Lily, answer me," James sobbed and held onto his wife on the lawn. She sobbed into his chest for a moment before looking back up at him.

"James, it was Him," she whispered. "He came after us…"

"Are you alright? What happened to Harry?" James whispered.

"He tried to kill him," Lily sobbed. "Something happened and the spell was deflected or something! I don't know! Oh, James it was awful! I felt my entire body tense up and release as if it were over! All I saw was this bright light and a sense of calm came over me. Someone was telling me it was going to be alright…and then it was over…I was alive and he was gone." She had to stop because of her sobs.

"Is the baby alright?" James asked, pressing his hand onto her stomach. She sobbed again.

"Oh, James, I don't even know!" Lily said, feeling a new sense of dread creeping into her body. What if they baby died? The thought of losing the baby made her heart clench.

"Stay here," James ordered firmly. "I'm going to get Dumbledore. Listen to me, it's going to be fine, alright?" Lily nodded mutely and held onto a screaming Harry who's head was chopped into a lightning mark. "If Sirius or Remus wakes, have them take you to St. Mungo's and owl me." Lily nodded again. Her entire body was shaking with uncontrolled nerves.

After twenty minutes nothing happened. There were no movements from Remus or Sirius. For a moment she feared they may be dead, though they still stayed breathing. She sighed and willed her body to relax and become calm, to no avail. If she didn't stop she could make herself go into spontaneous labor.

"C'mon, James," she muttered to herself, tapping her nails on the floor and keeping one hand clenched down painfully onto Harry's chubby arm. He began to get fussy again, sending another wave of irritation and panic through Lily. "Oh, Harry, please! Daddy will be back soon. You love daddy!"

Harry let out a giant wail and punched a fist onto the carpet. He turned towards Lily, giant crocodile tears in his eyes, his face red, bottom lip covering his top lip. Lily gave him a look and sighed.

"Turning on the charm, I see?" she said sarcastically, brushing some of her hair out of her eyes. What did James's departing words mean? 'Have them take you to St. Mungo's.' Did that mean he wasn't going to come back here? Was she supposed to wake Sirius and Remus? Should she call for help again? Maybe send an owl to the Longbottoms, or possibly Andromeda Tonks?

Lily looked around the house, still heavy with smoke and rubbish and felt a twinge of anxiety. It felt as though she were being watched. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as goosebumps appeared up her arms, and down her back. She shivered, wondering why she was starting to feel so afraid when she should be rejoicing.

Turning her head slightly, not allowing herself to make too much movement or noise, she saw that Peter's body, where he had been laying, was gone, the spot empty. Another surge of fear gripped her, making her breath stall in her throat.

Stay calm, she commanded to herself. A twinge of fear rippled through her, nonetheless. She bit down on her bottom lip as another wave of pain passed through her. She knew she was stressing the baby, that it wasn't good what was happening, but she couldn't help herself. All she wanted right now was to scream for her husband, for his help.

Somewhere in this ruined house was a man who very dearly wanted them dead, and two unconscious friends who were going to be no help during this time. As she hoisted herself up into a standing position, Harry turned his giant, matching green eyes up to her, and a silent understanding was passed between mother and son. He would stay quiet, she would not get herself killed. The smoke still thick in the middle of the room, made it hard for her to see where she was going, or what she was stepping on.

Avoiding broken tiles or glass, Lily made her way into the kitchen where she thought some noises were being made. They sounded harsh and weezy, as though the person were out of breath. Sounds just like Peter, she thought bitterly. Stupid, fat man.

Wand raised, ready to kill, Lily jumped into the room. It was silent, the white, small area threatening her. She knew someone was inside of it, someone who very dearly wanted her dead.

She walked around the island counter, her sneakers barely making a sound on the white floor. For a moment she was silent, sucking in her breath as she strained to hear something, anything. Just as she was about to put her wand down, she heard it. It was a slight weeze from the hallway, the hallway that wrapped around the house. Gulping down some saliva to try and soothe her dry throat, she made her way down it silently. She had just turned the corner, leading down to Sirius's bedroom, when she bumped into someone. Losing her cool she let out a yelp, only to hear the person doing the same. She brushed smoke away from her face, recognizing the scream.

"Sirius?" she asked, grasping his arm.

"Lils?"

"Yeah?"

"What're you doing up?"

"What are YOU doing up?" she countered, leaning against the wall. "I thought you were Peter!"

"And I thought you were Peter," Sirius said.

"Awesome, so we both thought the other was Peter, yet Peter has gone and vanished from the living room," she said sarcastically.

"Don't worry," Sirius said comfortingly, leading her back into the kitchen. "We'll get that little, rat-nosed, backstabbing, son of a bi-"

"Baby-" Lily interjected.

"Oh," Sirius said with a start, glancing down at the baby, "right. Sorry, kid. Don't want you to know such language before you can actually say it back."

"Ow," Lily hissed holding onto her stomach. There was another sharp pain that rocketed through her, making her see white. She bit down on her lip to keep from crying out.

"What's the matter?" Sirius asked quickly.

"Um…I'm not sure," she replied worriedly. It was still a month and a half until her due date. "I think I've gone into labor, but I'm not sure. I mean, my water hasn't even broken!"

Five minutes later it broke, much to the horror of Lily. It was decided that they would go to the Hospital and floo James.

"Oh, please go and find him!" Lily cried as they made their way into the lobby, her face pale with fear. She clasped onto her stomach again, feeling herself go faint.

"Name?"

"Potter, Lily Potter," she said through clenched teeth. The woman looked up at her.

"Do you have a husband? Black hair, brown eyes, very annoying-"

"James! You've seen James?"

"Yes, quite an annoying man. Made me go and check every single room with him to see if his wife was there…Well, at least I can tell him you're here. He's up in the waiting room on floor six, or at least he was there when I left him. Tried to shake him off, if you know what I mean."

"Floor six?" Lily asked quickly, ambling forward.

"No, hey, wait!" Sirius cried, carrying Remus over his shoulder with great difficulty. "You're in labor! You need to get into a room. Please, get her into a room," he said, changing his direction and talking to the nurse at the desk.

"Come with me, ma'am," the nurse said.

"No, but my hus- Ma'am? Do I look old enough to be a 'ma'am' to you? I've had a rough night, thank you very much!"

"Aw, Lil, just follow the nice woman to her room so I can go put Remus down," Sirius snapped, waddling over to a chair and tossing Remus down onto them, not noticing when he bounced up and then off. He turned to another nurse, the one not leading Lily down the hall and said, "My friend got attacked tonight, and I think it would be best if he got a room."

"Alright, what attacked him?"

"A wizard," Sirius replied.

"What kind of spell?"

"Um, well, there's the problem. I'm not sure, really. See, the wizard blew up-"

"Blew up?" the nurse repeated slowly.

"Yes," Sirius said nodding.

"So where is he? He must need medical attention-"

"I think he's dead," Sirius said with a shrug. The woman eyed him cautiously. "Don't worry, though. No one's going to miss him."

"Um…let me go get my supervisor…" the nurse said slowly, edging towards the back room. Sirius looked at her and started.

"Oh! I just realized how that sounded," he said, giving her a comforting smile. "See the Dark Lord came to my friend's house and tried to kill them. He sent the Killing Curse at my friend and she somehow survived it and it shot back at him. He exploded, the force knocking myself and my friend unconscious."

"I'm going to have to ask you to stay behind the little red line, Sir," the nurse said, her voice rising. She obviously though he was insane. "Dr. Medrackis!"

"No, no," Sirius said quickly. "Listen to me-"

"Stay where you are!" the nurse screamed. She pushed a little red button and suddenly lights overhead started flashing. Moments later, two burly men with matching blue uniforms jumped up. "I believe this man is checking himself in," she said calmly to them. They started forward, as Sirius quickly stepped backwards.

"What-Hey! I am not checking myself in! I am trying to get some help for my friend!"

"What friend?" the nurse asked.

"That friend!" Sirius cried, turning around and pointing at the empty space where Remus had been moments ago when he plopped him down. "Remus? Remus?"

"Fifth floor-"

"No! I am not crazy! Hey, put me down!"

"Sirius?"

"Remus?"

"Yeah," Remus said slowly, holding his head and glancing at Sirius with an amused expression. "What's going on?"

"They're trying to commit me," Sirius snapped. "Please, tell them that you know me and that I am not insane."

"I know you and you're not insane," Remus replied, turning to the two men. "You can't commit him if he isn't either willing to do it himself or has someone to vouch for his sanity. He has both."

"He says that he blew up a wizard," the nurse barked. "If that isn't crazy, I don't know what is!"

"Don't worry about it," Remus said, peeling Sirius out of the two man sandwich and leading him down the hall. "So…"

"Shut up," Sirius growled, feeling Remus's smile.

"I'm sorry," Remus said with a snort. "Only you can get yourself committed."

"I'm warning you, Remus!"

"Right…where are we going?"

"Maternity," Sirius said grumpily.

"Why?"

"Lily went into labor! C'mon, man, keep up!"

"What?" Remus yelped. "Why didn't you say something?" He rushed ahead of Sirius. "Well, come on!" he snapped, turning back to usher him along. Sirius moodily picked up pace until they were both power walking to the elevators.

A/N Please read and review.


End file.
